Researchers have identified how alcohol influences dopaminergic and inhibitory neurons in the ventral tegmental area. The findings could help develop new treatments for alcohol dependence.
A new study reports chronic nicotine exposure during pregnancy alters the genetics and dopamine neurons of newborns. The findings could help researchers develop a possible cure for nicotine addiction.
Pnoc neurons in the paranigral ventral tegmental area become active when mice seek rewards. Stimulating these neurons with optogenetics promotes avoidance behaviors. Researchers say ventral tegmental area dopamine neuron NOPR expression is necessary to limit reward-seeking behavior.
Researchers examined the effects oxytocin and vasopressin had on perceptions of social dominance. Oxytocin increased perception of greater dominance. Neuroimaging revealed the findings were also reflected in changes in brain regions associated with social perception.
A new study explores why teens may be more vulnerable to addiction than adults.
According to a new study, cocaine has the most potent effects on the female brain when estrogen levels are at their highest.
Fluctuations in the dopaminergic midbrain play a critical role in risky decision making.
Dopamine neurons are activated less than in adults brains when teens are faced with the prospect of a reward, a new study reports.
Novelty directly activates the dopamine system and enhances associative learning. The findings have implications for the development of new machine learning technologies and educational strategies.
New research sheds light on why images of enticing food affect us less when we are full.
Neurons in the caudal pedunculopontine nucleus, an area of the brain that regulates motor coordination, switch neurotransmitters from acetylcholine to GABA as a result of exercise. The switch appears to provide feedback control that regulates motor coordination and skill learning.
Researchers have discovered a lipid that may act as a 'switch' to increase or decrease the motivation to consume nicotine.
